Flood-gate



(No Model.)

J. ERKMANN.

FLOOD GATE.

No. 394,683. Patented Dec. 18, 1888.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JACOB ERKMANN, OF ENFIELD, ILLINOIS.

FLOOD-GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 394,683, dated December 18, 1888.

Application filed October 15, 1888. Serial No. 288,108. (No model.)

To all? whom it may concern:

jects upward from the point of the wedge- Be it known that I, JACOB ERKMANN, of i sillsB C.

Enfield, in the county of \Vhite and State of The operation is as follows: These gates and Illinois, have invented a new and Improved their frame, &c., are placed across a stream,

Flood-Gate, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of my invention is to construct a flood-gateor a series of gates of like eonstruction whieh will open and close automatically, the gates being opened as the water rises and closed when the water lowers; and it consists in the parts which will be hereinafter specified, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 represents a top plan view of a frame suitable for two sets of gates of like construction, a plan view of one set of gates being shown 011 the right-hand side. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of one set of gates, and Fig. 3 is a section on the line a: a; of Fig. 1.

A B C represent three united sills, the sills B 0 being in the form of a wedge, and G is a block upon which the said sills B C are mounted.

E, F, G, and Hindicate four posts. A beam, H, rests upon the sill A, and it is fixed to the posts F H, and H is abeam whose respective ends are fixed to the posts E G. Two curved and inclined guideways, I, have their respective inner ends fixed near the point of the wedge-sills B O, the outer ends of said guideways being fixed to the beams H H respectively.

J J are two gates, the gate J being hinged to the post F, the gate J being hinged to the post E. The outer ends of these gates are beveled and they close in the form of a wedge, as shown in Fig. 1. The under side of each gate is provided with a roller, K, and said roller is mounted upon a curved incline, I.

L is an arm pivotally attached at L to the outer side of the gate J, the outer end of said arm being provided with a light wooden float, L The said gate is also provided with a plate, L and keeper L for the arm L. The gate J is provided with a notched plate,'J Said notched plate and arm L constitute a latch for the two gates. A stop-post, M, proand the water is presumed to flow in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 1. When the water is below the float L the gates will remain closed and latched. \Vhen the water rises to the height of the latch and above, the float L will be carried upward, so as to unlock or unlatch the gates. The force of the water on the inner sides of the gates will cause them to move outward and open, so as to let the water escape. As the gates are thus opened, their respective rollers will move out ward and upward on the curved inclined ways I. \Vhen the water recedes to a certain point, the gates and their rollers will gravitate back to their former normal position and the latch will automatically lock.

I11 order that the gates may swing freely and be readily removed when desired, they are hinged to the posts in the following manner: To the bottom of each gate is bolted a straphinge provided with an eye, and an eyebolt is passed through the corresponding post and secured by a suitable nut, the two eyes being at a right angle, one to the other, and open sufficiently to allow one to be passed into the other. To the top of the gate is secured a strap-hinge having an elongated eye, and to the corresponding post an open hook is secured by a bolt integral with the hook passing through the post and fastened by a nut, a collar being formed on the belt at the rear of the hook.

The arrangement of the gate is such that there is no danger of its being opened by stock.

Any number of gates may be used and they may be made of various sizes, so as to conform to the width of any stream.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In a flood-gate, two hinged gates, each provided with a roller, inclined ways for said rollers, and a latch for locking the gate, said latch being provided with a float, substantially as described.

2. In a flood-gate,- the combination, with.

latch being provided with a float, snbstan tially as described.

a 4. In a flood-gate, the combination, with the sills, beams, posts, and inclined Ways, as I 5 specified, of two hinged gates, each being provided with a roller, and a latch for locking -the gates, said latch being provided with a float, substantially as described.

JACOB ERKMANN.

Vitnesses:

GEORGE E. W. W001), J AMES E. WILLIS. 

